Boys Basketball: THS hangs on to down Eureka

In what turned into a nerve-racking free-throw shooting contest over the final 2 minutes of the game, the Troy boys basketball team had just enough to pull out a 57-55 victory on Friday night over visiting Eureka.

A pair of foul shots by Trent Cratty with 1:50 remaining would turn out to be the difference.

“We would’ve sealed the game up a lot earlier if we could hit our free throws,” Troy coach Cory Andersen said. “We hung in there. You’ve got to give Eureka credit … they’re improving.”

In a see-saw affair that saw several lead changes, Eureka led through the first 8 minutes, 15-11, with 12 of the Lions’ points coming off the hand of Ryan Holder.

In the second, both teams put together runs and by halftime, the game was tied up, 27-27.

Cratty hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 2:30 of the half. But over that same timeframe, Eureka scored 10 points to force the tie.

In the third quarter, Eureka took a five-point lead 2 minutes in but the Trojans settled down and started to execute. A three-point play by Kody Hoffman with 4:42 left in the third cut the Eureka lead to 34-33. Then following a technical foul on Eureka, the Trojans took the lead with 3:53 left in the quarter on a pair of free throws by Jake Alexander.

In the final 3 minutes, Cratty and Jake Higgins buried 3-pointers but Eureka kept pace and trailed only 45-43 with the fourth quarter remaining.

The lead changed hands a couple of more times before Hoffman hit a jumpshot with 3:18 left for a 51-49 Trojan lead. Eureka’s Caleb Curtiss came right back with a pair of free throws to tie the game.

Then came perhaps the biggest shot of the evening. Ryan Rayson sank a 3-pointer with 2:52 left for a 54-51 Troy lead. In the meantime, the Trojan defense didn’t allow a field goal over the final 4 minutes of the contest.

“What it came down to in the end was if we could hit some free throws, we could’ve taken some of the suspense out of it,” Andersen said.

Troy connected on 3-of-10 free throws the rest of the way – the two by Cratty and one by Alexander. Eureka had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds at the free-throw line but neither attempt would fall for the visitors.

Holder had a big game for the Lions with 20 points. Teammate Tanner Blankers was also playing well and finished with 14.

Rayson and Cratty each finished with 15 to lead Troy’s offensive charge. Hoffman scored nine points in one of his top performances of the season. Brian Hammrich added eight points.

The Trojans shot 46.9 percent from the free-throw line (15-of-32).

Troy (6-4, 9-9) now turns its attention to this week’s District 7-B tournament in Libby and Troy.

The Trojans open play on Thursday in Libby against Thompson Falls. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

The winner advances to a Friday evening game against Plains. If Troy loses its opener, the Trojans would go into the consolation bracket at 10:45 a.m. Saturday.

Troy 57, Eureka 55

Friday at Troy

Scoring by Quarters:

Eureka    15    12    16    12—55

Troy         11    16    18    12—57

Eureka (55)

Thomson 0 0-2 0, Peterson 3 1-4 7, Blankers 7 0-0 14, Holder 8 3-5 20, Derby 0 2-3 2, Soderling 0 2-3 2, Curtiss 1 2-3 4, Guckenberg 1 4-6 6. Totals 20 14-26.

Troy (57)

Rayson 5 3-6 15, Alexander 2 5-6 7, Higgins 1 0-1 3, Hoffman 3 3-4 9, Cratty 5 2-9 15, Roeder 0 0-2 0, Hammrich 3 2-4 8. Totals 18 15-32 57.